Shimla too may get metro rail

The Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, will soon explore the possibility of having a railway metro in this popular resort town of Himachal Pradesh.

Official sources said the state government had recently contacted the central surface and transport ministry, which has asked IIT Delhi to carry out a survey and consultancy services on its behalf.

IIT experts are expected to reach Shimla soon to carry out the survey and consultancy and submit a detailed report on the possibility and feasibility of building and running a metro in this hill station.

Civic officials here are concerned about the growing overcrowding and congestion largely due to the arrival of more and more tourist vehicles round the year, which is expected to grow further even as space is fast shrinking in the congested mountain terrain.

Officials say under the mass transport system, there are options of having a metro train, train bus, line train and mono train.

The survey would explore all these possibilities including the best one suited for Shimla besides suggesting the routes and cost of the entire project, sources said.

Currently Shimla is connected by the century old narrow gauge or toy train from Kalka to Shimla. This 96-km railway track climbs up from the plains to Shimla, located at 2,100 metres above sea level and passes through 103 tunnels.

There is a narrow gauge railway track in Kangra valley connected to Pathankot. Apart from this, virtually no railway network has come up in the hill state since independence.